Sometimes consumers receive phone calls even though they are registered in the national opt-out register or have not consented to receiving such marketing. This often happens due to a mismatch between the name and address in the Central Marketing Exclusion Register in the Brønnøysund Register Centre and the information in the National Population Register.
You can avoid this problem by entering your phone number together with your name and address in the Central Marketing Exclusion Register. So far, only about 750,000 out of the more than two million registered people have done this.
Not all calls are prohibited
You cannot opt out of all kinds of phone calls. For example, you must agree to be contacted by market researchers and traders that you have an active customer relationship with. If the calls concern this customer relationship, however, you can ask the traders not to call you again.
If you have consented to be contacted by a trader, the opt-out in the Central Marketing Exclusion Register will not apply. The Consumer Ombudsman recommends that you be conscious of submitting your phone number when participating in surveys, online contests etc, as many traders see this as consent to be contacted.
If you receive phone calls from charities you do not wish to support, you should contact the organisations directly and notify them.
Pick up the phone
If you don’t answer the phone, you cannot find out what the call is regarding, and you cannot tell the company to remove you from their call lists. It is therefore better to pick up the phone, find out who is calling, and inform them that you don’t want any further calls. If it turns out that there has been a violation of your opt-out, you can submit a complaint to the Consumer Authority.
When can I file a complaint?
You can file a complaint to the Consumer Ombudsman concerning traders who disregard your opt-out. When they call, you should therefore ask who is calling (call centre) and on behalf of whom (client). The Consumer Ombudsman can then contact the trader and evaluate their procedures to ensure they refrain from calling people who are in the Central Marketing Exclusion Register.
Read more about how you can avoid telemarketing and spam on the website of the Ministry of Children and Equality.